Happy Daze in Laos

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“Sabadee!” Some locals have offered me some traditional Lao whiskey, made from rice, and of course I can’t refuse. Their generosity and warmth is unnerving, and of course, totally inspiring. The sun begins to set behind the peaks by the time we wash ashore the island bars. “A top ten day?” asks Minesh. “A top three day!” I respond. By now I have traveled to enough places and seen enough things to know when something is truly special. Tubing in Vang Vieng is beyond that. As word gets out (REPORTS like this don’t help), I wonder whether the village-now-town will be able to cope with the influx of travellers. Will the locals become jaded, sharpen their rip-off skills, charge more than the ridiculous $3 for the tubing experience, start playing, horror, Everyone Loves Raymond as well as Friends? Probably. That’s the unfortunate reality of tourism. It’s like those scientific experiments, which cannot be accurately recorded because the fact that they’re being recorded in the first place changes the outcome. I don’t know how long Vang Vieng will continue to exist in its current, bizarro state, but I feel blessed to have discovered it at all.

A final footnote, lest you think that Modern Gonzo has taken a drug-fuelled detour into a stoned Wonderland. We decided to try a “happy” shake, even though we were warned beforehand of their strength. I hadn’t’ met one person who had actually “enjoyed” a happy shake, but then all the sun and water had probably leaked into my brain, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. We shared two between three of us, and I spent the next 48 hours unable to move without my cranium slamming into my grey matter. My eyes were spinning, my body shaking, and little birdies were floating above my head, before dive-bombing like rabid banshees from the very darkness of hell. Not so happy, that shake, whatever the hell they put in it.

To the Christian Serbian girl: I travel because every once in a while I stumble across a universe so unexpectedly inspiring it can change everything. Cultural understanding, beautiful scenery, wonderful people, food - it’s all important, but when new worlds blossom where before there were none, you cannot help but feel some of the magical power of life itself. Sorry, blame that hippy Happy shake.

Joma Bakery Cafe
Vientiane

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